


I Should Have Called

by batbaby78



Category: The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-09
Updated: 2014-01-08
Packaged: 2018-01-08 02:09:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1127144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batbaby78/pseuds/batbaby78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anna wasn't expecting the father of her child to show up. Course, he didn't know he was a dad either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Should Have Called

I was just cleaning up some odds and ends, waiting for my mom to drop off Alex. So when the doorbell rang, I wasn’t too surprised since what toddler doesn’t want to ring the doorbell. I opened the door with a dramatic voice, crying out, “I wonder who that…”

But it wasn’t Alex and my mom. Standing there in a pair of well worn faded black jeans, sneakers, and a long-sleeved blue and black plaid, was Alex’s dad. Only he didn’t know he was a dad. He just smiled at me with a small laugh and said, “Hi Anna.”

I dropped the arm that had been holding the door open and closed my slack mouth. It didn’t prevent the warm blush from creeping up on my cheeks as I looked into his ever changing hazel eyes. Those were just one of the reasons I had fallen for him. Clearing my throat, remembering I had a voice. “Uh, hi, Josh.”

I still hadn’t opened the screen door that separated him and I immediately remedied that. “Sorry, I was expecting someone else…entirely.”

“I got that,” he replied stepping in and grabbing me close for a hug. He still smelled of Old Spice Fresh body wash and spearmint gum. I took a deep breath in, never have forgotten that smell and memories flooded back into my head. “I’m not intruding, am I? I know you’re probably getting ready for dinner or something? Maybe you were waiting for someone to pick you up?”

I snorted at the thought and closed the door as he walked further into my home; the one he basically spent a week in almost three and a half years ago. I watched he looked around, hopefully taking in the surroundings as they were now. I followed him as he walked to the kitchen, loving my view from behind as I always had. I could feel my eyes widen as he turned, thinking he may have known I was watching him walk ahead of me. 

“Do you want something to drink?” I asked, going onto the other side of the island and opening the fridge. I looked into it, “I have soda, apple juice, green tea, orange…”

“Are you waiting for someone to come over?” His voice startled me by being right on the other side of the door, instead of at the table where I expected him to be waiting. He laid his hand over mine. “Anna, did I make a mistake coming by?”

I looked at his hand, so much bigger than mine, a thousand feelings jumbling around in my stomach. I was just about to explain when the front door opened again and I heard my mom struggling with Alex.

“Anna, come get your daughter! Whose car is outside?” She called out as I walked to the living room, Josh right behind me. She looked up after depositing Alex’s bag on the floor and finally looked up. Her eyes widen and I could feel Josh’s questions, even though I couldn’t see him and he hadn’t said anything yet. “Josh? Wow, hi. I’m just dropping off Lexi here.”

Alex squealed as my mom gave her a big sloppy kiss, playing it up as she said good-bye to her only grandchild. “Be good for mommy and her….friend.” 

I walked towards her, leaning in for a hug and whispering in her ear, “He just showed up.”

She gave me a kiss on my cheek and quietly said, “Good luck. Nice to see you Josh.”

“Ummm, bye Mrs. Vega.” I saw him wave to her as I closed the door behind her. 

“Mommy, who that?” Alex asked me, fumbling to get out of her unzipped jacket and failing. She kept wiggling around me to look at Josh. She didn’t know who he was anymore than he did her. I finally got her jacket off and lifted her up so I could introduce them, kind of.

“Alex, this is an old friend of mommy’s. His name is Josh. Josh, this is my daughter, Alexandria, Alex for short.” He put his big hand on her tiny one and shook it.

“Hi, Alex. How old are you?” He asked, his voice changing to be more childlike. I could never figure out how guys did that, but I had yet to meet one who didn’t. 

She looked at me, making sure it was okay to talk to him and as soon as I nodded, she answered happily, “I’ll be three soon. I get to have a big party!”

“Almost three. Wow, that’s great.” He looked at her a bit more closely and I knew the exact moment when he figured it out. When he looked at her eyes; the same eyes as his, those ever changing hazel, which right now were green because of her shirt. Josh looked at me, than back at her, and fumbled over his words, “Is she? Am I? Anna, I think we need to talk.”

I set Alex down and kneeled down to her level, “Honey, why don’t you go play with your babies while I get dinner ready and talk to my friend.”

It didn’t take much and she was off, stumbling a little as she kept looking at Josh and him her. Before he could say anything else and I was sure she was in her room, I pulled Josh into the kitchen. “You have to know that there was a perfectly good reason why I never told you.”

“I have a kid?” He asked, trying to keep his voice low, but it came out higher than he intended. “Anna, she’s mine isn’t she? I mean, she’s almost three, her eyes, those look like mine. Anna, what the hell? When did you know? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“First of all, sit down.” I waited and kept silent until he did, which took about a minute with a stare down included. “Alright, first of all, I didn’t tell you because you were on the other side of the world. Second of all, I didn’t want you to think that I wanted something from you when I didn’t. And third of all, you were so young; I didn’t want to burden you.”

“Burden me?! She’s my daughter, Anna! She wouldn’t have been a burden!” He yelled, one of the few times I had ever heard it outside of a character he played. 

I put my hands up, “You need to not yell. I have a hard enough time getting her to use her ‘inside’ voice.” I explained, sitting down opposite him. “Listen, you were traveling all over, promoting Mockingjay when I found out. I didn’t know how to tell you, when to tell you and then it was like, there she was. You were filming in New Zealand when she was born, Josh.”

“So, you knew where I was? Why….I don’t understand, Anna. Why would you think that I wouldn’t have provided for her?” He questioned; his voice full of hurt and eyes so sad. “And we were careful, how did….I mean, I know how, but you know, how?”

I took a deep breath and with a puff of air out, answered, “I didn’t want your provisions. This house is all but paid for, I haven’t had a car payment since before I met you, my job is going well, I didn’t need your money. And I never wanted that. She already even has a college fund set up, thanks to my sister and overtime. As for the when part of it; we were careful, all but one time and that’s all it took.”

“But, so, what time was that and you still should have told me, I had a right to know about her.” He was rubbing his hands on his jeans, a nervous habit he apparently hadn’t grown out of. 

I closed my eyes, remembering our time together, two blissful weeks of laughter, talking, food, and lots of sex. The only tears shed were the ones the night before he had to leave. I shook my head, “I know. I should have told you as soon as I found out, but hell….I’d only been pregnant once before and I ended up losing the baby two weeks after I found out. I was afraid to tell you because I was…..afraid the same thing would happen. But then everything went so smoothly with her and I kept telling myself, you need to tell him. You need to get a message to him, get him to call back. But I couldn’t, Josh; I didn’t want her to be that mistake you made when you were young. And it was in the shower. I thought I had cleaned myself pretty well; you thought you had pulled out soon enough. Which by the way, pulling out is not a good method to go by.”

He snorted before slamming his hands on the table, startling me with his anger, “She wouldn’t have been a mistake! You weren’t a mistake!”

Tears welled up in my eyes before I could help it and he got up quickly, bending down next to me. “Anna, I didn’t mean I would just provide for her. I would have changed my schedule; I would have stayed here with you. I would have loved that.”

I looked down at him, his eyes tearing up as well. He was never one to let someone cry alone. I had only known him those two weeks and yet I knew so much about him. “You were twenty-two Josh. It’s not like I did it to hurt you. Every time I look at her, I see you. Her smile is just like yours too, Josh, and her temperament. She’s so much more patient than me and I know she gets that from you, not me. And she can make anyone laugh, she’s really good at that.”

“Does she know anything about her dad? I mean, does she know…”

“She doesn’t know who you are. She’s too young to watch the movies I’d really want her to watch, she’s seen Epic though, about a thousand times, very much into the ‘Leafmen’ as she calls them.” I say with a smile, leaning into his hand as he wipes away a fallen tear. “Josh, if you want to know her, that’s fine. But you should have called too. I mean, what if I was married or had a boyfriend now? Why are you even here?”

He looked down sheepishly, as if I caught him in some big lie before looking back up at me, his eyes big and brown. “If I said I was in the area, would you believe me?”

I shook my head, wondering why it was that I wouldn’t have believed that. “Not really.”

His winning smile told me I was right on the not believing. “I missed you. I’ve missed you. This whole time I thought about you.”

I snorted again, “Seriously? Josh, you ‘missed’ me this whole time, almost four years later and nothing. I got nothing from you this whole time. This was one of the reasons I didn’t want to tell you about her. You may have missed me, but I don’t think knowing about her before would have made you stay. We weren’t that madly in love. It was all lust, right? I mean, think about for second. The media would have gone crazy over that story. ‘Josh Hutcherson! Having a baby with a one-night stand! Baby mama only in it for the money!’ No, no thank you.”

“I would have come back had I known. And you weren’t a one-night stand, Anna.” He was mad again and now standing up. I don’t think he’d ever been mad at me while we were together for those two weeks; actually, I don’t recall seeing him mad at anyone before he had done his last movie.

“I know I wasn’t, but they don’t know that and the media likes to spin things, Josh, you of all people should know that.” I stood up too, not liking having to look up at him glaring at me. He backed up as I took two steps towards him. “You were too busy being a superstar who was getting offer after offer. You claim to have missed me this whole time and yet, all I ever got was one Christmas card! One, Josh! How does that tell me anything but that you remembered we spent some time together?!”

“Mommy, was happening?” I heard Alex’s voice behind me and turned to her, holding her little rag doll, eyes wide and scared. 

I turned back to Josh, “You want her to know who you are, Josh? Because if she knows, it’ll change everything. Everything. You’re entire life will never be the same because you’ll fall in love with her after five minutes of talking to her, I can guarantee it.”

“Kind of like I did with you?” He asks before he passes by me and kneels down before my dark haired baby girl. “Alex, do you really want to know who I am?”

“Not if you’re making my mommy cry.” She says matter-of-factly. 

Josh laughs lightly, “If I promise I won’t make your mommy cry again, do you want to know who I am then?” 

She handed him her dolly, “Here, play wit her firs.”

He got comfortable on the floor, sitting Indian style with his legs crossed while he cradled the doll in his arms. “Does she have a bottle, is she hungry?”

“No, she just pooped.” Alex answers; toddlers don’t care what comes out of their mouth, it’s almost always entertaining in some way. Josh laughed and held the doll away from him. “I go get a diapee.”

Alex ran off back to her room and Josh turned to look at me. “You were wrong, that wasn’t even five minutes worth of talking.”

I kneeled down to him. “I don’t want you breaking her heart Josh; she’s too young for that. I only got over it because of her.”

“I thought you said it was just lust?” He retorted and I couldn’t help my lips crashing into his, like it’s where they belonged, even after so much time apart. I ended up knocking him over just as Alex was coming back with her baby’s diaper. 

“Mommy!! He’s playing daddy, don’t crush my baby!!” She squealed, trying to get the doll out of harm’s way while Josh and I laughed at her reaction to finding us kissing. Josh handed her the doll, pulling me into a tighter embrace, his lips not ready to leave mine just yet. 

When we finally pulled apart, breathless, Alex just looked at us, back and forth, before finally asking, “Mommy is he my daddy?”

I looked at Josh as he looked at me, neither of us knowing what to say at first. I shrugged and he answered his little girl, “Alex, why do you think I’m your daddy?”

“Because mommies only kiss daddies like that.”

I smiled at her, not sure where she had gotten that from, but enjoying her answer anyway. Josh looked at me again and I just shook my head, “I didn’t tell her that.”

“That’s how the mommies kiss the daddies in the princess movies.” Alex explained further and then both Josh and I nodded.

“Well, Alex, would you want me to be your daddy?” He asked carefully, watching her eyes as they looked at him curiously.

“Do you love my mommy?”

“That’s why I came back.”

“Why were you gone? How come I never see you before?” Her questions were simple enough and for a child, a big explanation would make no sense.

“Well, I had to work and my work was far away.” He was doing really well with her and I knew that it wouldn’t take long before I was head over heels for him again. That was all it took, just him walking back into my life. 

“Mommy never talk about you.” She stepped closer to him, pointing a finger in his face, “Did you call my mommy?”

There was no way anyone could have resisted chuckling at that and Josh wasn’t immune either. “Well, no, I never called.”

“Then you don love my mommy. If you don call and you never came to see her, you don love her.” If only I had Alex explain more to people.

“Well, no, that’s not true. You can love someone even if you don’t call them or see them.” He turned toward me. “I was never not in love you. I just didn’t know how to come back and now that I have and now that I know, I want to stay.”

“What?” He had caught me completely off guard with that statement. “You have roles to do and movies to produce. Josh, you haven’t thought this through.”

Completely turning his body to mine, I decide to do the same, while Alex watched on. She stood by quietly as Josh explained himself. “Look, I avoided coming back a lot of times before because I knew if I did, I wouldn’t want to leave again. I knew that Anna, I knew it then and I know it now. Alex only changes part of it. I have already been talking to my manager, who thinks I’m insane, but overall, she’ll do whatever I want.”

“But Josh, how did you know I wasn’t with anyone? I mean, how did you know I was still single and that I’d even want that?” I hadn’t imagined having this talk with him ever. I thought if he was going to come back, it would have been within the six months of us being together and when that didn’t happen; I just decided it was for the best.

He looks down at his hands, then rubs them on his jeans. Biting his bottom lip, the one I used to enjoy sucking on so much, he answers quietly, almost shyly, “I had someone check up on you in the last three months.”

“What?” I look at him and then Alex, back to him. “You had me tailed?”

Josh shook his head and then slowed it down and nodded, “Kind of. I mean, it wasn’t like a private eye or anything, I just had someone, sometimes me, check your Facebook page every once in awhile…”

“Every once in awhile? That means you saw pictures of Alex. She’s posted all over the place.” I smack his arm as hard as I can and he flinches. “You’re upset I didn’t tell you and yet you saw her!”

Holding up his hands so I don’t hit him again, he quickly adds, “I wasn’t sure she was mine. I mean, how was I supposed to know if you had hooked up with someone else with green or hazel eyes after me? I mean, come on, you’re really pretty and you were always so easy to get along with, it would have made sense if you got together with someone else. I expected you to be married when I first looked at your page and when you weren’t, I got excited at the possibility that maybe, maybe I had another shot.”

I don’t even know how to respond to that, because I wanted that ages ago. But it’s different now. He’s admitted that he knew I had a child and he basically just told me that he stalked my Facebook page. I’m not sure what to say to him about that, so I just stare at him for a minute before climbing into his lap, straddling him. I hold his face in between my hands, looking him straight in the eyes, “Are you sure this is what you want?”

He puts his hands over mine, squeezes them and says, “It’s what I wanted a long time ago. I was stupid, I walked away, I let too much time pass. That’s on me. But you obviously let some things slide too, but I want to work on this, us. I can be here, for you, for her, but mainly for us.”

I smile, my cheeks warm under his stare and I nod. “Maybe we should try one dinner first. After you watch her eat, you may not want to stay around.”

We both laugh and Alex stomps her foot, “Thas not nice mommy! You get a time out!”

Once I’ve calmed down, I answer her, “Yeah, maybe I’ll take a time out with your daddy later.”


	2. My Body Remembers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna and Josh are figuring each out again.

Having had Josh literally walking back into my life was weird and yet made sense at the same time. I wouldn’t have been able to explain if someone asked, but everything fit so easily with us the first time around and that lasted all of two weeks. But here he was now, almost three years after walking away, three months after having come by for an impromptu visit, finding out he had a daughter, and was making all kinds of life altering decisions based off of her. 

I wasn’t complaining, we had argued over what would happen. I didn’t want him to change his life for her, for me. But he insisted it was for us, all of us and he had plenty of projects in line that didn’t require him to live in California in order to get them done. Plus, as he listed off the perks; he could ride his motorcycle more often in Arizona. How was I supposed to resist his smile when I knew that anytime he rode was some of his happier moments in his life? Plus, even his manager and lawyer were very much behind him getting away from L.A. They had been trying to get him to find another spot to call home for awhile now, get his personal life in order, and make some investments in realty. Or as Alex called it, the Castle. 

I wouldn’t say that it had surprised me at all that he was willing to change his entire life around. I mean, he had said years ago, before I met him even, that he wanted children. Not one week after he had met Alex and he was trying to find a house out here. It was useless arguing with him, he would move out here whether we moved in with him or not. And since Alex wasn’t in school yet, it wouldn’t really matter as long as the nearby schools were good. One thing we did have a heated discussion on was my job. Josh was all for me staying at home but I would have none of that. When we met, I was working on getting a promotion. After I had had Alex, I got it and was happy where I was.

“But you could be with me and Alex.”

“When you’re home. But I knew a long time ago that I was not made for being a stay-at-home kind of mom.” When he rolled his hazel eyes, I responded with, “You have no clue Josh. You’ve known her for two weeks. I’ve been working full-time for almost twenty years. I need that adult interaction; I need to be kept busy. I know stay-at-home moms do, keep busy with stuff, but I’m not that kind of woman. I don’t garden or love to cook, so not good with the craft stuff. Or even decorating! There’s only so much cleaning and laundry to do with three people. I’m going to keep working unless you want me to go insane. Hell, even my maternity leave was difficult; not being able to talk to an adult every day is weird to me.”

“What if we got a dog?” He asked just as Alex had come wandering into the kitchen where we were talking. 

Her eyes lit up and she climbed onto Josh’s lap, “Dog? We get a puppy, mommy?”

I gave Josh the look that basically said, thanks shithead, my life just got that much more difficult. “No, baby, we’re not getting a dog. Maybe when you’re older, a lot older, like been pooping in the potty for ten years older.” 

“Mommy! That not fair!” She screamed at me and then awkwardly turned herself around in Josh’s lap so that she was now facing him, trying out the big, sad eyes she attempts on me that never work. But Josh is new to the game and I hope to God he doesn’t give in while I’m standing right there. “J, can I ave a puppy? You said we get a puppy.”

He looked at me and I just shook my head. He was like a deer caught in the headlights. Only this was his daughter giving her daddy puppy eyes that were probably brown right now and really playing it up. “No, Alex, I was just talking to mommy about something else. We’re not going to get a dog, not until you’re older like mommy said.”

She folded her little arms up, stuck her bottom lip out and pouted, “You’re mean!! You’re not my best friend anymore!” 

So while she climbed off of his lap, I tried to suppress my giggles until she walked away. He got up and walked over to me. “You just left me hanging there.”

That made me laugh even harder and he wrapped his arms around my middle, pulling me close and nuzzling my ear with his nose. I slapped him away, “No, you need to learn anyway. She will try and use you against me. She does it with my mom all the time. But those big sappy eyes she gives me, useless. On me and mom. You, on the other hand, I have a feeling that she’s going to get a lot of stuff outta you.”

He pulled back, dramatically offended, and it didn’t help my giggles go away. Josh put his hand over his heart, “You think I can’t say no to her? I just did.”

“Yeah, because I was right here.” I turned into his embrace, batting my eyelashes at him, and sticking my bottom lip out just a bit, “But tell me that this look won’t get me exactly what I want right now?”

Josh tried to look away, up at the ceiling, over at the wall, behind my head at the other wall. But when he sneaked a look down at me again, I just stuck my lip out further, and he caved. “Dammit, what do you want?”

I pulled his head down and gave him a deep kiss. Just as he was really getting into it, I shifted my head away, “I want you tonight. Like we were when we first met.”

He let out a grunt, "I'm pretty sure I can handle that. But what about Alex?"

"Time for you to call in a favor to my mom I guess, huh, Josh?" I reminded him as I turned and walked out of his embrace, making sure my hips swayed just the right amount, knowing he was watching. I didn't turn to glance at him until I was rounding the corner to Alex's room and gave him a wink.  
"Damn you Anna!" He called out before pulling out his phone and scrolling through the numbers to find my mother's. I usually didn't have to call in favors to her, but he needed to learn a few tricks of the trade if he was going to really want to stay here. 

Once my mom had picked up Alex, Josh basically tackled me and heaved me over his shoulder in a burst of energy. I hit his butt since it was right in front of my face and cried out, "What in the hell? Aren't you going to wine and dine me?"

"I already got you pregnant, why would I have to do all that?" He answered with a chuckle.

"Asshole." I grabbed his waist to keep myself from bouncing so much, not that he had far to walk, but who wouldn't want to hold onto him? He smacked my butt at my remark and then plopped me down on the bed. I crossed my arms over my chest, "This isn't how we were when we first met, you know?"

Josh just smiled and walked out of the room. I heard some banging around in the kitchen, wondering what he could possibly be getting together. I kicked off my shoes and got comfortable anyways, since apparently this is where we'd be spending most of the night. I could hear him opening up a noisy bag, some sort of salty snack must be involved along with the clanking of glasses. A few minutes later, Josh came in with a tray full of junk food. I spotted a bowl of cheesy popcorn, chocolate chip cookies, Hostess cupcakes, tortilla chips and guacamole. In one of his hands, a large bag full of what looked like bottles hung down. 

I eyed him carefully. "I don't drink beer still, you remember that, right?"

He rolled those intoxicating hazel eyes, which were very brown at the moment, green and gold flecks still noticeable up close. "I know. It isn't beer, well, not for you anyways."

He laid down the tray and I grabbed a few pieces of popcorn, while he took the bottles out. He had gotten me Hornsby hard cider, my favorite of any of the ciders out there. When I had met him, Josh kept having me try different flavored beers, hoping I'd like at least one, but it never took. In one week, I must have tried over fifty different ones because he would go to Trader Joe's, Sprouts, and BevMo, looking for single bottles for me to try. It was such a waste to me, but he'd finish them, so not as wasteful for him. Then there was lunch at BJ's or dinner at The Yardhouse, where he would order the taster's beers. I remember rolling my eyes at him then. 

"Since we have the night and probably most of the morning to ourselves, I figured we'd stay in bed, eat, watch a movie, maybe have the sex...." He started before I began laughing loudly.

"The sex?!" It took me a good minute before I could stop laughing while he gave me a dirty look. I put my hand on my neck, trying to calm down. Waving a hand in front of me, "I'm sorry, I just. I wasn't expecting that. I shouldn't have laughed. You obviously put some thought into this and I should be utterly flattered."

"That's right you should." He answered, his tone angry, but the look in his eyes mischievous. He took the remote off of it's place near the TV that I had put in my room long ago and turned it on, activating my Roku box at the same time. Josh slid onto the bed, crawling towards me with the silliest and sexiest look at the same time. It was like he was trying to overplay the sexy. 

"What are you doing?" I had to ask because the whole thing was just too funny. Just then, he got up really quick from the bed and took the tray off of it. And then he started the crawl towards me again. I couldn't keep from giggling until he grabbed my ankles and pulled me under him.

"I know this isn't how we did this the first time around. But I think this is better, don't you?" He whispered, kissing right under my ear, a surefire way to get my juices flowing, literally. 

"Mmmhmm." I had no real words for him, just wanted him as close as possible. 

He lifted his dark head, looking into my brown eyes with his. "Anna, I never forgot about you. I mean, there was never a day that went by when I didn't think about you in some way. Your laugh, your smile. That weird way you eat Reese's."

"Shut up. You're ruining an otherwise perfect moment." I said, slapping his arm. He laughed, a great sound, a comforting sound. 

Smiling down at me, "No, I don't think you understand. The time I was away from you, the second I actually had to leave, that was the hardest. The few months that followed sucked, Anna. I know you don't believe me, since I didn't keep in touch. But you said it was better that way and I wanted to trust you on that. I had to just to get by. Even Andre was all, 'call her man.'" 

I put my small hands on either side of his face. "Josh, there was no way I could have kept up with your life with all that was going on for you. And I have my life here and I like it. It was the best thing at the time to say it. I know I made a mistake not telling you about Alex, but it seems to have worked out okay."

He shook his head, "Anna, I didn't want to leave that first time..."

"Oh please, Josh, we've been through this." I start, pushing him away a little. He doesn't budge though.

"No, Anna, I really didn't. I know you think I was too young, had too much going on, but I would have dropped everything if it meant I would have been here to see you pregnant and watch Alex growing inside of you and her smiling the first time or walking or talking." He is so sincere when he says these things and I know he isn't lying. But I stand firm in the belief that he was too young still. As if he knows what I'm thinking, he continues, "Anna, we should make it official."

I have to shake my head at this train of thought he's having. "What? Josh, you have got to be kidding me!"

This time I do wiggle out from under him and pull myself up into a sitting position to look at him. "No, we're not going to just get married because you don't want to leave."

He looks wounded for a second before he blurts out, "Fine, no marriage, yet." I roll my eyes and he slaps his big hands over mine, "I'm not proposing right now, not to get married anyway. What I'm proposing is that we make it more official in the sense of you moving in here with me, let a few photographers see us out together."

"Oh hold up, Josh, I'm not ready for the public to know you have a kid just yet." I reply, waving my hands up from under his. "I think you still need more time with her on your own before you both get attacked by the paparazzi."

"Anna, I've been dealing with them for years, it'll be fine." He tries to reassure me.

"Yeah, you have, but Alex only knows that you're her dad, not what you do. She might love getting her picture taken, but only when she knows she can see it right away and she's so little, she wouldn't understand why people are pointing to you and her and she just, she's ......." I ramble on because the thought of my, our, baby girl's picture being splattered across the front page of some crappy tabloid scares me. I'm not ready for that and I think Josh can see it in my face, hear it in my words because he takes my hands again and brings them to my lap.

"Anna, it'll be fine. But it's going to happen, whether we're ready for it or not. People will figure out I'm here and unless you let me put the house under your name, because technically that's public record, they'll track me down." He says quietly and slowly. He brings my hands up to his lips and kisses my knuckles, holding my hands like a you would a queen's. "I will hire the best body guards, for different events if it makes you feel better. I mean, we can get a nanny-like one who is solely for her, maybe someone who doesn't stick out as much, but would know how to protect her from anybody."

I feel my hardness melt a bit, "Really? But I won't need one, like on a daily basis, right?"

Josh smiles, a soft chuckle escaping his slightly chapped lips, "Only if you think you'd need one. I mean, if someone actually starts bothering you, you have to let me know so I can take care of it, okay, Anna?"

I nod. I know he'll take care of us, whether it be himself or hiring someone to shield us from prying eyes. I relent, "Okay, I know you will, Josh, but it's still scary. I mean, she's so young."

"Well, or we could do an interview with someone from a good magazine or show, introduce her that way." I can feel my eyes go wide again and he gives me a small smile, "Let me put it this way, if you could go on any show, talk to any person of your choosing, daytime or nighttime, who would it be?"

I scoff at the thought but have an answer ready, "Ellen."

"Alright, she's awesome. What if I called her up and gave her an exclusive? We go on there, talk about us now, how we're a family. She's good at getting people to talk and, well, embarrassing them or scaring them, but she's fun, you know that from watching her."

"You think she'd agree to that? An exclusive with you?" I ask, because I'm still not sure I like the idea, but meeting Ellen would be awesome.

"I'll have my manager make a couple of calls tomorrow. You know Alex would love to be on TV." Josh says, already knowing the much about his little girl. 

I look up at the ceiling, then at him, straight into those eyes that make me want to do whatever he says. They aren't as brown as they were when he first came into the room, more green. "Ok.....yeah....ok, you can make that call. I trust you."

"That's all I ask of you, Anna, all I ask." He says warmly, kissing my hands again. When he looks me in the eyes, I can see his changing again. It's mesmerizing really. In a deeper voice, one that he doesn't play around with often, he says, "Well, and maybe something else."

I bit my bottom lip, knowing what he might want, but itching for him to ask for it. I lift my eyebrows in questioning, urging him to say it. He leans in, watching my lips as he gets closer. I feel a heat in the pit of my stomach that only he has ever started there. When his lips graze mine ever so slowly, ever so sweetly, I can't help the moan in the back of my throat. His kissing was always one of the best parts of any day. He runs his tongue over my bottom lip before biting it gently and then caressing it with his tongue again. 

I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer, endlessly closer and never close enough. He wraps one arm around my back, lowering me to the mattress and holding himself up with the other. I spread my legs for him, where he fits perfectly, our clothes an irritant at this point. My hips buck up against his on their own, remembering how good he felt there once upon a time. This will be the first time we've slept together since he left that fateful day years ago.

Josh pulls back for a moment, looking down at me, his face flushed and eyes deep brown again, "Anna, is this what you want?"

"I've never not wanted you, Josh." I answer honestly and add, "But these clothes need to go." 

Josh gets up quickly, leaving me cold without him on top of me. He practically rips off his shirt and jeans, making me laugh again. "Done. Now you."

I sit up, whipping off my top before I feel his hands on my pants, undoing the belt and I lay back down to let him do the rest. He makes quick work of my jeans, throwing them into the pile with his and looks at me for so long, that I get nervous. It's been three years since he's seen me naked. I begin to fidget and Josh shakes his head, climbing back onto the bed, "No, Anna, you're still as beautiful as you were then. Maybe even better now, don't think I didn't miss that bubble butt of yours."

I smile, feeling slightly better. It was always his favorite part of my body, just as mine was his. He lays down next to me and gathers me close, kissing me passionately, running his hands down my side, to my thighs and then around to grabbing my ass. I smile against his lips and do the same to him. He's nibbling on my neck, making a trail down to my collarbone when I mumble out, "I've missed this. I've missed you."

Josh pulls his head up, "Haven't you been with anyone else since then?"

I snort, thinking of the two guys I was "with". "Yeah, sure, they counted as one and not even a whole one with how horrible it was. I guess that's what I get for being super horny and thinking that it would do me justice."

"So, what you're saying is they, whomever they were, didn't stack up to me? How many?" I roll my eyes at his question, why would he bring this up now?

"Seriously, Josh, now?" He nods and I answer, "Two. Both of whom took me on dates, one who got lucky that first and only time and I decided the other one should wait until the third date and I was sorely disappointed. Happy?"

He chuckles, "In three years, only two?"

"Should I be worried at your number?" I ask, sliding myself away from him again. He pulls me close as I try and fail to keep pushing away.

His dark hair, that is in need of a trim, sways a bit as he shakes his head. "Not really. It's just that you're so pretty, I thought your number would be higher."

"Umm, yeah, I'm not a movie star and I don't hook up with my co-stars."

He puts his hand over his heart, "Ouch. That hurt, Anna, that really did. And I only 'hooked up' with two of them, for like a month each."

"Ooookay, that makes you sound better." I push him onto his back, straddling him in the process. "Now, we both know that your number is way higher than mine regardless because you are who you are and I knew that when I met you years ago. I already figured that number would go up, even if it was just a mindless hook up, because, well, you are a guy and even the best of guys think with their dicks at times."

Just as he's about to open his mouth in protest, I silence him with mine and give him a deep kiss. One that should let him know that he is with me now and those others don't matter. I run my hands down his chest, sliding one over his throbbing erection and rub him hard over his boxers. I pull away enough so that he can hear me when I say, "This is mine right now, Josh, that's all that I care about. You with me, right here, right now. Whatever has happened before makes no difference because I trust you and you have given me no reason to think otherwise."

He moans and flips us over, my legs falling open wide to accommodate his body between them. His lips crash into mine and are practically bruising as he kisses me with a heat I haven't felt in years. The fire that he had lit earlier is back again, hotter and ready to consume me. His hips are grinding against mine and they don't hesitate to respond. I slip my hand back to where it was and start rubbing Josh again. His member is all heat and throbbing against my palm.

Somehow I'm able to stop myself from kissing him and breathlessly relay, "Condoms. We need a condom."

He groans but obliges and lifts himself off of me to walk into the bathroom, where I didn't even know he had them. He walks back in, pushing his plaid boxers down with one hand and three condoms hanging in the other. I smile and slid my panties off, throwing them alongside the rest of our clothes. Josh grins at me again, beginning to open a condom and I shake my head, "Not yet, I want to feel you against my mouth."

I lay on my belly, my head just barely hanging over the side of the bed and he places himself right in front of me, thick and a drop of pre-cum waiting to be licked off, which I do. Not quite knowing where to put his hands, Josh places them on either side of my head and moans as I glide my tongue up his shaft and waste no more time by taking him into my mouth and sucking. 

"Oh shit, Anna." He begins to lightly pump in and out of my mouth, careful to not press into me too deep as I wrap a hand around the base of him to keep him steady. His hands start roaming, rubbing my back and then grabbing my ass when I suck a little harder and faster. "I can't...Anna....I need to be inside of you."

He pulls away and all but shoves me onto my back again. I think he's going to climb on top of me when instead he kneels before me and pulls my legs to the edge of the bed, my ass at just the right spot for his head to go between my legs. He is in an even bigger rush it seems as his tongue flicks between my lower lips like I'm a ice cream cone. When he slides a couple of fingers inside of me, I all but scream at the sensation. He's nipping my clit with his teeth and pumping his fingers in and out of me at a steady rate and it takes me exactly thirty seconds of this before I cry out his name. It's been a long time for me to have come that hard and I'm not surprised that it took so little time, but Josh seems happily so.

Josh grins up at me, his chin glistening with my juices and instead of carefully sliding his fingers out, he leaves them there as his other hand weaves its way to my breasts and starts to pinch one nipple and then the other until they are both taunt. He stands up, his hand still between my legs, a look of concentration on his face as he begins moving his fingers again, spreading them like scissors inside of me. I don't know how much more of it I can take since now he's climbing onto the bed and kissing his way up from my not so flat belly to my breasts. He's teasing me, swiping his tongue across one perky nipple to the next, going back and forth like a game of ping pong. It's making me dizzy in the best possible way. I can feel myself tightening around him again and know he can feel it as he starts moving his fingers faster and harder into me. I may not be able to sit comfortably tomorrow.

"You like it rough like this?" He grunts out and all I can do is nod. "It didn't take long to make you come the first time and it doesn't seem to be taking too long now, does it, baby?"

"Fuck Josh!" I grab his wrist to stop his movements as I come again, somehow his voice being my trigger. I see him lick his lips, watching me as though I were his prey and he's ready to feast. He finally pulls his fingers from me, swiping his tongue against them before he puts on a condom. 

His eyes are brilliant shade of brown with golden flecks in them right now. No time is wasted as pushes me to the middle of the bed and enters me as he does so. He feels so big inside of me, almost painful for the first second until he begins to move. "Damn, Anna, you're so tight! You were always so tight after I made you come."

I can't respond to that, I don't think I would know how to or even if I could. I can feel myself stretching to accommodate him, my body getting used to him again easily. It remembers him as if it were three years ago and nothing has changed. I look up at him, his eyes trained on me, waiting for me to answer maybe. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me as my legs do the same around his waist. But he won't budge, holding himself as if in a push up position; which really isn't so bad because he keeps looking into my eyes and I can't keep mine away. 

"Anna...." his eyes close for a moment as I feel myself once again tightening around him, the tip of his cock consistently rubbing against my clit when he enters me over and over again. 

"Come for me, Josh." I whisper as I kiss along his jaw line, the only thing I can reach from how we are. I feel him shudder and he looks down at me again thrusting into me so hard I wonder if we're going to break the bed as it bangs against the wall. One, two, and three and he stills, holding himself against me as I grip him tighter to me. I feel him fluttering inside of me as he spills himself into the condom and he finally collapses on top of me. It's a welcome weight, he's so warm and strong and comforting. He's kissing my neck, where his head is resting on my shoulder and I giggle a little, his facial scruff tickling me. I hug him close to me and say, "I've missed you more than you know, Josh."

*There will be another chapter of this story*


End file.
